The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the parliamentarians listed above, former members of the Parliament of Eritrea who have been held incommunicado since 18 September 2001 (often referred to as the "G11"), as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/186/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 185th session (October 2009),

Recalling its consistent position that the now more than 9 years of incommunicado detention of the persons concerned, which the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights already unequivocally condemned in 2003, amounts to severe physical and mental torture and causes their families unbearable anguish,

Recalling that since September 2004, when the Ambassador of Eritrea to the European Union, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain reported that he did not know whether "anyone from the outside or a member of their family had recently visited them and observed their conditions of detention", no further reply to any request for information has been received from the Eritrean authorities, and that no other source has been able to provide any information on the current situation of the former parliamentarians; the Ambassador has yet to meet Committee member Senator Philippe Mahoux, despite several requests by the latter for a meeting,

Considering that at its 13th session (1-26 March 2010), the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the report of its Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review regarding the human rights situation in Eritrea; this report contains a number of recommendations in response to concerns about arbitrary arrest and detention and lack of respect for freedom of expression, particularly in the political sphere, refers to the situation of the 11 detained parliamentarians and includes a call for the release of all political prisoners; in response to the report, the Eritrean authorities have stated that "The State of Eritrea respects the right to information and freedom of expression and opinion", that "No one in Eritrea is detained for expressing his/her views", that "there are no secret detention centres in the country" and that "Due process is the law of the land"; considering that the official report which the United Nations made available for this debate and which contains a compilation of actions taken and concerns expressed by the United Nations human rights special mechanisms about the situation in Eritrea depicts a very gloomy picture regarding freedom of expression and the use of torture and arbitrary detention in that country,

Considering finally that the European Parliament, in its resolution of 15 January 2009 on the situation in the Horn of Africa, "calls on the EU to reconsider its approach to Eritrea if no progress is made towards compliance with the essential elements of the Cotonou Agreement (Article 9), in particular on core human rights issues (access for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to prisons, release of the "G11" prisoners).",

1. Is disturbed that the Eritrean authorities continue to ignore the persistent pleas of the IPU and a binding decision by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to release the 11 former parliamentarians forthwith; is shocked that the authorities, in what is meant to be a transparent and frank exchange of views in the United Nations Human Rights Council, choose to hide behind generalities;

2. Urges them onceagain to put an immediate end to the intolerable plight of the 11 former parliamentarians, whose prolonged secret detention is an affront to human dignity;

3. Reaffirms that parliaments and their members can and must do more to exert pressure to secure the release of the persons concerned, including by making use of bilateral, regional and international trade, development and other agreements to which Eritrea is a party;

4. Appeals again to the African Union, the African Parliamentary Union and the Pan-African Parliament to do their utmost to secure the release of the former parliamentarians concerned and so prevent the African Commission's authority from being undermined by the negative attitude of a State party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights; also appeals to the European Union, through its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to do everything in its power to help bring about their release;

5. Requests the Secretary General to inform the authorities and other interested parties accordingly; urges the Eritrean authorities to lend weight to their own statements before the United Nations Human Rights Council and to release the persons concerned forthwith; trusts that the Eritrean Ambassador will finally make himself available for a meeting with Committee member Senator Mahoux;

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 123rd IPU Assembly (October 2010).

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